African Fusion July 2021

SAIW’s ISO 3834 offering

ISO 3834 offering large companies because it makes their planning and cashflow easier to manage. “We also offer the option to pay for initial and repeat audit and certification expenses over a three month period. No matter what payment option is adopted, however, SAIW involvement and sup- port is available at any time,” Tarboton assures. SAIW is currently developing a one day hybrid seminar/webinar to encourage and enable interested fabricators to adopt ISO 3834 Certification and, if feasible, to give them the opportunity to see the SAIW’s state-of-the-art facilities for themselves. “This will be offered free to those interested in the process of adopting ISO 3834 Certification. “As a certification body, we cannot go into a company and ‘fix’ the problems they have. What we can do, however, is use our considerable experience to highlight areas of focus for preparing for certification. In our ISO 3834webinar, wewill run through some of the common implementation difficulties and give guidance on all 14 key elements of ISO 3834. “Some companies just want certification towin a tender andde- liver on a job, and that is the limit to the benefit they see. Our initial surveys of certified companies, however, have been exceptionally positive, with many reporting improved productivity and quality. This goes a longway beyond simply getting the next job,” suggests Tarboton. “Among all of the certified companies we have spoken to, we have never heard anything negative about our ISO 3834 offering, andwe nowhave over 300 certified companies,” he adds. “Instead of viewing ISO3834 as a license to tender for work from the likes of Eskom and Sasol, we have to get to the point where our fabricators can rub shoulders with international competitors. This is particularly important for doing work across Africa, where competition is going to be fierce,” Potgieter adds. As well as offering independent verification of compliance to ISO 3834 by the world’s leading authority on welding, through the SAIW/IIWManufacturer Certification Scheme, SAIW is also accred- ited locally to SANAS 17021: Quality Systems for Company Certi- fications; and SANAS is a recognised member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). “Thismeans that we have authorisation to certify welding fabricators from any country in Africa and these certifications are Internationally recognised. “So any fabricator certified by SAIW to ISO 3834 can tender for

High integrity welding taking place at Necsa Nuclear Manufacturing: an SAIW Member; an ISO 3834-certified company under SAIW’s Welding Company Certification Scheme; and the only ASME III nuclear-accredited facility in sub-Saharan Africa. success, and we haven’t yet started to spread it to the local min- ing industry or into the African countries North of our borders,” Tarboton concludes.

Comments from certified companies

As a company, we have greatly benefitted frombeing an ISO3834 ac- credited entity. The systems andprocedures that are inplace assist in ensuring that our day-to-daymanufacturing operation is conducted in an almost flawless manner. This has also hugely improved our welding processes and the control thereof. We are fully supportive of ISO 3834 Certification. ISO3834 is all about theweldingprocess, which is the core functionof any fabrication, be it in a shop or in the field. It is a hands on control system that, if done correctly, will benefit any company. The system is not just procedures written into a file that is lying in someone’s office. The important part is that it is run by people that know how welding works and are involved in the process of welding.

welding-related projects requiring com- pany certification anywhere in the world. This is huge for African Industrialisation!” he exclaims. In addition, the Pressure Equipment Regulation and SANS 347 specify ISO 3834 as a requirements for any vessel where welding is the dominant construction method used. “At the heart of our offering is a com- mitment to helping the companies we certify to succeed. As the leading technical institution on the continent dedicated to furthering standards inwelding-fabrication and related technologies, we are here to assist all of our partners, members and certified companies. “The SAIW/IIW ISO 3834 Manufacturer Certification Scheme is already a huge

Mobicred payment options introduced for SAIW training A student-centric, flexible approach is available for the payment of SAIWcourses. The SAIW now offers long-term payment options via the online revolving credit service Mobicred. Students will be first be required to register and apply for a particular course on the SAIWStudent Management Systemon the SAIWwebsite. This will be followed by an application checking procedure to confirm the acceptance requirements. Students will then be emailed a quotation with a choice of payment options that include an immediate EFT or credit card payment; or a longer term Mobicred instalment plan. The Mobicred planmeans that, instead of having to save up R47 520, for example, to attend a Level 1 Inspectors Course, students can opt to do the first module, which costs R11 880, by splitting this payment into budget friendly instalments over a six month, one- or two-year period. The student will be registered to attend the first module as soon as the first instalment is paid. Future modules or further courses can then be funded in the same way, keeping the training costs more easily manageable. www.saiw.co.za

5

July 2021

AFRICAN FUSION